That training had begun in April 2011,
when Carrico’s coach, Andy Parsley,
started preparing a group of four students
at the St. Elizabeth School to run the
Baltimore Marathon as a relay team.
Parsley, the principal of the Baltimore
school, which serves those with learning
and physical disabilities, is himself an
eight-time marathoner.

“I thought the coaches were pullingmy leg when they told us we were run-ning to the lake near our school,” Carricosays of an early practice. “I didn’t know ifI’d make it, but I did and was very proudof myself.”That same determination carried Car-rico and his relay mates—all of whomhave symptoms of autism or similar dis-orders—to the starting line. But neitherhe nor Matt Weingram (16), Kamal Wil-liams ( 18), or Kahlid Harvell ( 17) had aclue what to expect from their debutmarathon. Seven months earlier, runningjust one mile had seemed daunting.

practice, and I noticed the hand he wascarrying it in stayed in a natural runningposition while the other swung wildly. Sowe had him hold an item in each hand todemonstrate proper form. That smallchange did the trick.”The four also gained a stronger senseof self-accomplishment. Williams—whoin addition to autism, suffers from cere-bral palsy—found it empowering to pushhimself. “My right leg has always carriedmore weight, and when I started training,I noticed improvement with my cerebralpalsy,” he says. “This has kept me moti-vated even when I’m not running.”In the marathon, Carrico brought theteam home in 4:39: 29 and says, “I was sohappy. I wanted to do it all again.” In fact,Carrico and Weingram went on to race inJune’s Baltimore 10-Miler and will run theBaltimore Half-Marathon on October 13.That day Williams will repeat the mara-thon relay with new teammates. (At presstime, Harvell was undecided.)

Parsley says the boys’ efforts have inspired other students and staff to take up
walking or running. The school is even
exploring hosting its own fun run.

To celebrate the school’s 50th anniversary last year, Parsley thought it would
generate pride among the students if they
entered a team in the marathon. Never
mind that many forms of exercise—
including walking, in some cases—are difficult to master for those with such mental and physical challenges. Sign-up
sheets were posted, but only the four guys
volunteered. “Mr. Parsley made it sound
fun, so I signed up,” says Weingram.

Staff members and Parsley served ascoaches and mentors, sweating alongsidethe boys as they trained. (For safety rea-sons the boys are always paired with anadult.) By the fall, Carrico joked, “I can’tbelieve we used to drive to the lake!”“When Matt began running, he wasunsure of what to do with his entirebody,” says Scott Tomlin, one of the adultswho helped the boys fine-tune their formand pacing. “He looked as if he wasthrowing a ball backward at you. Thenone day he brought an iPod with him to

MATTHEW WEINGRAM COMPETED IN BOTH THE 3-K AND 5-K AT THE MARYLAND SPECIAL OLYMPICS 2012 SUMMER GAMES IN JUNE.

A SHOE THING Galen Rupp reveals he has a bit of a shoe addiction: To the chagrin of his wife, the 10,000-meter Olympian owns as many as 30 pairs of Air Jordans.